YA Author. Athlete. Traveler. Perpetual Student.

Death Match: Books vs. Movie Adaptations

I enjoy both books and movies, and with Netflix, movies and TV shows based on books are readily available. However, while I thoroughly enjoy TV, I find that often I prefer reading, and that almost nearly as often, I am wary about watching a movie or TV series based on a novel. Especially if I really liked the book.

Not everyone prefers books over movies. I can think of several people off the top of my head, but they’re the type of person who doesn’t enjoy reading. For those who do, I’m curious whether they prefer books or movies?

I think that oftentimes a movie detracts from the book, not because the movie isn’t good (though sometimes the movie is really bad), but because a movie has a much more limited amount of space than a book does. Many times, this means that plot and characters aren’t as developed as in a novel.

Also, novelists usually have no control in how their book is portrayed in a movie or TV series. They don’t write the script. They don’t do the casting. They don’t get to say what parts of their novel are cut from the movie, what parts are added to the movie that weren’t in the book, and what’s emphasized and what’s not.

In books, readers are able to see inside characters’ heads, even more so depending on the point of view. Therefore, readers get a more in-depth feeling of characters’ personalities, and get to experience their emotions to a greater extent.

Even if I am wary about watching a movie based on a novel, I’ll most likely still watch it, after I’ve read the book.

Who knows? Maybe the movie will be better than the book. It’s happened, just not that often.